Guns N' Roses guitarist Robin Finck has left Axl Rose to return to his old job with Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails.

A label spokesperson for GN'R told MTV News on Tuesday that Finck has recorded "several albums" worth of material for Guns N' Roses, and that Axl is currently working on vocals for the long-awaited new GN'R record. A spokesperson for Reznor's label, Nothing Records, confirmed that Finck will again be touring with Nine Inch Nails. Finck played behind Reznor in the NIN live band for several years, but he took a leave of absence early in 1996 to play with French Canadian circus troupe Cirque du Soleil as well as performance-art glam punks the Impotent Sea Snakes. Finck soon made the split from NIN permanent. Finck joined Axl Rose in the studio in mid-1997, replacing Slash, who left Guns N' Roses in 1996. As the first musician to step up to the plate when Axl Rose was revamping his entire band, Finck was a bit of an anchor point for the new group; he

was the only new Guns player whom GN'R management would confirm to the press.

Insiders are saying that Finck had initially intended to tour with GN'R and had signed a two-year contract. His two years are now up, and with no album or tour in sight, sources say Finck opted to return to NIN, whose project is nearer to completion. Reznor has already released a single, "The Day the World Went Away," from his pending new album, "The Fragile," and a tour is imminent, although the label spokesperson declined to say exactly when the band will hit the road.